The Dark Side of Dress Up
by FrostedDarkfox
Summary: OneShot, KD Any action can have a dark side, Kel realizes, even something so seemingly innocent as dress up...


The Dark Side of Dress-Up

**A/N: Events (Kel dressing up in an old dress of hers) are based upon the author's life. Don't ask.**

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"Oh gods..." the woman paused, struggling with the cloth in vain, "Oh gods no..." She fought with the cloth, twisting her body so as to have access to the back buttons, but they were just out of grasp of her fingertips.

Her head shot up suddenly as a smart rap came at her door. The speaker called, "Kel? You in there?"

'_Gods, not him...not **now!**_' She took another swipe at the buttons, then sighed- her situation seemed hopeless- and called back, "Yes, Dom?"

"Dinner's in a few minutes, I was wondering if you wanted to walk over with me?"

Kel felt her heart swell in her chest at the idea, but in her current state it wouldn't be good to be seen by any of her male friends. "Uhm, Dom, that sounds nice; but could you actually do me a favor? Can you go get Lalasa for me? Tell her that I need help and that it's urgent, please."

"Are you alright?" Dom inquired, leaning closer to the door and trying to hear inside.

"I'm fine, just _don't come in._" The tone in Kel's voice worried him, and an odd protectiveness made Dom feel like he was the only one who should help her right then, despite what she had asked about Lalasa.

Dom scoffed, "Kel, if Lalasa can help you, I'm pretty certain that I can as well."

Dom reached for the door handle, and had just placed his hand on it when Kel yelled, "Dom, go get Lalasa! Please!"

The sergeant's worry for her as well as his curiosity doubled at these words, and instead of obeying her command, Dom pushed down on the handle, and leaned inside Kel's rooms to see what the matter was.

His eyebrows slowly rose at the sight in front of him. Kel stood in the middle of her room, clad in a sleeveless dress obviously from her page years; it had to be, the hemline was raised a good four inches from her ankle and it looked uncomfortably tight across her shoulders and- Dom didn't let it escape his notice- front.

Her back was to him, and she had her arm bent around and grappling for purchase on one of the buttons. Dom couldn't hold in his smart remark any longer, "Well," he said, stepping fully into her room, "this certainly looks interesting." The shocked look on her face as she turned to face him did nothing but cause him to snigger, and the glare she immediately shot him caused even more peals of laughter.

Her next reaction took him by surprise when she yelled, "Dom, you idiot, shut the door! This is serious! I told you to get Lalasa!"

Dom quickly pushed the door shut, still laughing. He managed to suppress his laughter and calmed himself enough to pull on a straight face. When he looked back at Kel, she was flushed, with her head hung down ashamedly and she looked as though she might begin crying at any moment. "Oh, Kel, don't be like that; I said I could help and I can...even if the situation may be a little- uh- awkward?"

Kel put up a hand to shield her face while saying, "And just can you help me out of _this_ Dom?"

Dom stood and observed her predicament. Stuck in a dress that was far too tight for her, '_which, despite the situation, does not make her look bad.'_ His mind rushed through solutions but finally he reached the most brilliant one.

Quickly, Dom unsheathed his dagger and crossed the room towards her.

When Kel saw the glinting blade, however, she quickly retreated to the farthest wall, knowing what would happen if Dom cut away too much material- he did not seem to understand this particular aspect of his plan. "Dom, that's really not a good idea. Really, just go get Lalasa; she'll know what to do."

But Dom didn't heed her words; he just continued to step towards Kel.

Minutes later, Kel was struggling in Dom's arms; his dagger had been flung across the room by her thrashing, and the dress was by no means any closer to becoming un-stuck. Kel continued to try and free herself from the strong circle of Dom's arms, but his grip on her had yet to relinquish and set her free.

"Dom, no!"

"Kel, just -!"

"Dom, let me go!"

"Just let me help you!"

"I told you to just get Lalasa, none of this would've happened, but you didn't listen!"

Suddenly, Dom's objective brain stepped back and he realized what kind of position he was holding the Lady Knight in. He kept holding her, but watched with interest as she continued to struggle. As aforementioned, Kel did not look bad in her dress, quite the contrary in Dom's opinion. With the dress being so tight on her, it showed off her body, slim and fit from uncountable hours of weapons practice. '_It's a dress she would never wear._' He also noted that he had never minded looking at Kel when she was in normal clothing. She was pretty in her own respects, and had so many amazing and qualities of good in her that he had some trouble looking at anyone else.

Noticing that Dom had stopped fighting against her, Kel abruptly stood still. She turned her eyes up and was startled to find herself locked in Dom's gaze. After a few seconds of intense contact, her eyes widened and Kel blushed deep red then looked away. Upon seeing her reaction, Dom broke out in a wide grin that Kel caught when she glimpsed back at him again.

"Well," Dom cleared his throat, "as fun as that was, it didn't have the intended effect. Hmm..." Dom put his hand under his chin in thought. He stood like this, studying her for another long moment before gripping her shoulders and spinning her so her back was to him.

The back of the dress was done up in small buttons in a straight line from the base of her neck to the middle of her back. Carefully, he undid the bottommost one and was delighted when it undid itself easily.

"Honestly," Dom huffed, "How did you manage to button these by yourself?" In response Kel gave a frustrated sigh and shrugged.

He made it through the next three buttons until he came to one that would not slide out. Kel began to thank him for helping, even when she had been rude to him about it; she had not noticed the impediment to her freedom.

"It's no problem, really, Kel. I'm a friend and I'm here for you anytime -- even such interesting times as these." Dom was delighted to see that his comment had warranted another blush from his friend, and reddened reaching all the way to the back of her neck.

Dom turned his attention again to the stubborn button, tugging it both ways and trying to free it from the cloth. Slightly annoyed with it, he tugged a little too hard and watched as the button tore away from the dress, along with a sizable portion of cloth from her back and shoulder.

Dom's eyes went wide at how much of the cloth came free in his hand. Kel stepped away and turned to see the damage, gasping as she noticed the cloth on the right side of her dress falling.

Only one articulate thought passed through Dom's head as he looked from cloth to Kel during those moments; '_...Damn.'_

Kel look horrified, and let out a high-pitched squeak as she turned away from him again and gathered the ripped material of her dress to cover herself. Careful to keep her back to him, Kel quietly said, "Dom, maybe...perhaps it would be better if you just waited outside. I think I can get this accursed thing off now."

Dom nodded, still wide-eyed and made his way out. Just before exiting, he recovered some of his mischievous attitude and said, "You know, Kel, it's a shame your dress had to rip... I thought it looked remarkably well on you..." before pulling the door shut to avoid the objects Kel would doubtlessly throw at him.

**--The Next Day--**

Dom whistled as he made his way down into Corus, remembering the events of yesterday. Though cheerful, and laughing at the odd memory, he couldn't help but think of meeting his eyes with hers, and the way her eyes...he couldn't describe it. She had been so different, so... '_Gods...so **womanly.**'_ He had seen something in her gaze, but just before he could name it she had looked away blushing.

'_She puzzles me so much...without even trying. How have I let her do this to me?'_ He shook his head, clearing the thoughts away as he came level with the shop he was looking for. A small bell chimed as he pushed the door open. There was no one in the main shop. Owner, court ladies, or their men; it was all empty. "Hello?" he called, peering behind the desk.

A woman came barreling out of the back room in a shot. "Excuse me!" she breathed, "I didn't hear you come in." She made a quick curtsey, "But welcome, I'm Lalasa," there was a long pause between them as Lalasa quickly glanced over Dom, "You aren't here to order a dress for yourself, I presume?"

Dom's mouth went slack- from all Kel had told him Lalasa was as meek as a mouse. He blinked slowly, "No, actually, it's for a lady friend of mine."

The dressmaker nodded, picked up a pad of papers with only a slight smile remaining on her face, and asked, "Do you have any measurements?" then frowned as Dom shook his head, "Height? Waist? Bust? Any of it?"

Dom shook his head again, then shrugged, "She's about my height," he said, "very tall, but also stick-thin..." he let his voice trail off before blushing deeply and adding, "I'd like it to be as form fitting as possible."

Lalasa smirked as she wrote down the last bit, "Well, I can certainly try. What color would you like it to be in?"

Dom was puzzled instantly-a dress was a dress... '_I wonder what she'd like...' _He cleared his throat, "Well, her favorite color is russet red."

She noted this, "Oh, alright, then that sounds li-" Lalasa paused, and did a double-take. She looked down at the order Dom had just made. Lalasa could have sworn she had seen these notes before somewhere...

Dom realized that she was on to him. She had probably taken Kel's measurements for years; it was a wonder that she had taken this long to figure out. He decided to play dumb and asked, "Is there anything else?"

She glanced up at him, "No, you pay when you pick up the dress in two day's time. But may I ask you something? Who is thi-?"

"Well, if there's nothing else, good afternoon." With that Dom made his hasty exit and disappeared down the street.

----

Kel looked blankly at the wide, flat box in her hands; "Dom, what's this?" she asked curiously.

He smiled sheepishly, "A little something for ruining your dress."

She scowled, "Can we agree never to speak of that again? Besides, you didn't ruin it, you _saved_ me from it."

"Fine, fine," he laughed, "though I still say it became you."

Kel stooped to place the box on her bed, then straightened and swatted his arm. Next, she crossed her arms and glared at him until he was done laughing. Once he was done she opened her mouth, "I'm only going to open it if you promise to never mention that again."

Dom grinned impishly and put a hand over his heart, "Sergeant's honor, I'll never mention the day in which you got stuck in an old dress and needed me to cut you free of it ever again."

"Liar."

She reached for the lid anyway, fingers itching to see what was inside. Pushing away the soft folds of tissue, Kel gasped when her hands met the soft material. He waited for a reaction from her, she was holding it - clenching, really - with her eyes wide and her lips set in a delicate 'o.'

It seemed to take a millennium for her to turn her head and look at him, trying to hide her shock.

"Dom…" her soft voice faded as she searched for words, "Thank you."

'_Now this is a bit awkward,_' Dom looked away; instead of letting them get caught up in embarrassment and blushing, Dom began to cajole: "Don't tell me you're just going to stand there and look at it."

"N-no! I couldn't! Dom, _look_ at this dress, I can't wear this!" But her arguments fell on deaf ears - Dom was already steering her to the dressing room.

"Now, now, Lady Knight, don't deny me this treat; I _insist,_" and upon 'insist' opened the door and nudged her in - closing it firmly. "After all," he called after her, "You can't just keep it in your closet for the rest of eternity!"

Kel begrudgingly pulled the dress on; it was light and was mainly of an elegant, simple design - excepting the ties. She had pulled her arms up and through the sleeves, already disapproved of the low dipping front, but she was struggling to do up the back lacing -- but Kel would be damned if she asked him for help with a dress again - look where it had gotten her last time.

But with another three minutes worth of struggle she had to give up.

"Err… Dom?"

She heard footsteps, then his voice was immediately outside the door, "Yes Kel?"

"W-well, you see... I'm not a court lady type, you see, and well…"

"Yes?" Dom prompted.

"I need help." Her head hung with the statement, it was rarely used, and always an embarrassment coming from her lips. It sickened her.

"What was that, Kel?" she could _hear_ him begging her to say it again. It may have been rare that Kel needed help in _anything_, but it was even more rare when she actually admitted it.

She huffed, "Just come in here and help me, OK?"

"As the lady requests." Dom slipped in the doorway and studied the stays before lacing the back up and pulling it taut. Finishing the ties off Dom stood back to admire his handiwork. Not giving Kel even a moment to adjust herself he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the main room.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get a good look at you."

He placed her in the center of the room, then pulled back her curtains and stood a pace back to admire her.

Kel fidgeted. She did not like being examined as such. Long russet red sleeves led to hands clenched and pale as she awaited his judgment.

Kel was surprised when she heard his voice start, catch, then stumble out, "You look amazing."

She brought her head up; he sounded sincere. A smile crept unbidden past the wall of her mask and warmed her eyes - '_Maybe playing dress-up every once in a while isn't a bad thing,_' she begins to think.


End file.
